Monthly Archives: June 2005

Why Billy Edelin isn’t going to Roanoke

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Doug Doughty’s local colleges notebook in today’s Roanoke Times details a conversation between Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and Roanoke coach Page Moir regarding Syracuse’s Billy Edelin transferring to Roanoke for his senior season.

In short, Edelin was likely headed for eligibility problems at Syracuse, and if that’s the case, how is he going to transfer and be eligible at a Division III school? Forget the entire question about what such a transfer would do to the chemistry of a team — one would have to question whether someone in shaky academic standing even merits being admitted to a D-III school.

There’s nothing wrong in general with players transferring from Division I schools. It happens pretty regularly. Some pan out, some don’t, but often an athlete moves up to Division III to become a student-athlete, to concentrate more on education, to have fun playing basketball instead of it being a job.

I could name some not-in-the-spirit-of-Division-III transfers, but I think D-III veterans probably already have some idea of what those would be.

In short, Division III is not a pit stop for someone on the way up from or the way down to Division I. Don’t use us like that. If you’re here to be serious about your education, we welcome you. Otherwise… try a different division.

Draftees who play hardball

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Tuesday was the first day of the major league baseball draft, and seven Division III baseball players were selected:

Eastern Connecticut left-handed pitcher Ryan DiPietro was a sixth-round pick of the Royals (No. 172 overall). MLB’s scouting bureau report says he has a similar frame to former big-leaguer John Tudor.

UW-Whitewater right-handed pitcher Gregory Reinhard was a sixth-round pick of the Devil Rays (No. 178 overall). He is described as having a Jason Marquis build with a Mark Mulder approach.

Calvin right-handed pitcher James Deters was a seventh-round pick of the Indians (No. 214 overall).

Millsaps shortstop Garner Wetzel was a 10th-round pick of the Rockies (No. 297 overall).

Illinois Wesleyan left-handed pitcher Cory Lapinski was an 11th-round selection of the Astros (No. 344 overall).

Southern Maine right-handed pitcher Thomas Fairchild was a 12th-round selection of the Astros (No. 374 overall).

Alvernia catcher Anthony Recker was an 18th-round selection of the A’s (No. 551 overall). Moneyball readers will be glad to know he had a .544 on-base percentage and led the team with 29 walks in 200 plate appearances, striking out 23 times.

Feel free to post updates from the draft’s second day here. We’ll try to check in as well. With 50 rounds to the draft, there will certainly be more names.

Transfers, recruits, etc.

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Nate and Dain Swetalla are transferring to Augustana.

Nate is a 6-6, 210 pound guard/forward who played for the last two seasons at Division II Minnesota State-Mankato after redshirting as a freshman and he will be a junior in eligibility next fall. Dain is a 6-9, 218 pound forward/center who spent this past season at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will be a sophomore at Augustana.

Their father, Ray Swetalla, is an assistant coach at Augustana under Grey Giovanine.

“We are excited that both Nate and Dain have decided to join our Augustana basketball family,” said Giovanine. “Both are excellent players who will have a positive impact in our program. I am happy that they will be able to play together for two years in their basketball careers and that they will get a chance to be coached by their father. Ray has been a tremendous asset to our program since joining our staff prior to the 2003-04 season and I know he welcomes the opportunity to coach his sons.”

Dain averaged 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this past season at Kirkwood where he helped lead his team to a 29-8 overall record. Nate got into 18 games and scored 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting, 4-for-9 from three-point range. More on the Augustana incoming class farther down.

Casey Thran (Glenburn, Pa.), who played at Abington Heights HS, has notified Scranton of her decision to transfer from Connecticut College and join the Lady Royals for the 2005-2006 season.

Thran, a 5-10 forward, started 19 of 23 games and averaged 11.2 points, a team-leading 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 0.4 blocks per game for the Camels, who went 10-13 this past season. She scored a season-high 22 points in a 73-70 loss to Trinity (Conn.) on Jan. 21.

“Casey will be a welcome addition to our roster,” says Strong. “With the graduation of (forward) Tara Gemmel and (center) Eileen Webster, we really need help in the front court. Casey has already proven herself to be a proficient scorer and rebounder on the collegiate level, so I’m thrilled she chose to join our program and finish out her education closer to home.”

Aaron Gowell, point guard at Muskegon (Mich.) Community College, is transferring to Elmhurst. “Aaron is just the perfect fit for our team,” Elmhurst coach Mark Scherer told the Muskegon Chronicle. “He is a good passer, solid shooter and an outstanding teammate.”

Eastview (Golden Valley, Minn.) HS top scorer Zach Johnson will play at Carleton.

Chris Page of Amherst (Wis.) HS will attend Lawrence. The Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook reports that Nicolet’s Ryan Kroeger (6-2), Waterford’s Jayce Appelgren (6-2) and Sheboygan South’s B.J. Harry (6-7) are in Lawrence’s incoming class as well.

The rest of the Augustana men’s incoming class:
Justin Bertrand, F, 6-5, 210, Sterling, Ill. (Sterling HS)
Jeff Becker, F, 6-6, 190, Melrose Park, Ill. (Walther Lutheran)
Chandler Collins, F, 6-6, 170, Dolton, Ill. (Thornridge)
Ryan Foelske, F, 6-6, 210, DeKalb, Ill. (DeKalb)
Mike Kolze, G, 5-11, 165, Lake Zurich, Ill. (Lake Zurich)
Ryan Kuecher, C, 6-7, 230, Orland Park, Ill. (Carl Sandburg)
Mike Thomas, G, 6-1, 180, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North)
Alex Washington, G, 6-2, 175, Wheeling, Ill. (Wheeling)

Wisconsin Rapids guard Trevor Stratton, who has had teammates reported heading to UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point, will play at Carroll.

Erik Carlberg, a 6-5 forward, is headed to Penn State-Behrend from Riverside High (Oakmont, Pa.)

Marcus VanderHeide is transferring from Division I Canisius to Hope. The 6-6 forward played in all 29 games as a freshman this past season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10.2 minutes a contest.

Warren (Ill.) HS guard Ryan Hahne will play at Dubuque.

Brendan Fuller (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton) and Paul Biagioli (Waverly, Pa./Abington Heights) will join the Royals for the upcoming 2005-2006 season. Biagoli, a 6-5, 190-pound small forward, averaged 18 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as the Comets of coach Ken Bianchi finished this past season with a 21-4 record. He also averaged 9.6 points and 3.5 rebounds his junior year as Abington Heights won the Lackawanna League championship en route to a 20-6 overall record.

“I’m very happy to land a local product of Paul’s caliber,” said Scranton coach Carl Danzig. “He plays above the rim and possesses some very solid shooting skills. He’ll provide a real shot in the arm to our program, especially on the perimeter.”

Fuller, a 6-6, 195-pound forward, was a four-year letterman for the Cardinals of former Marymount coach Chuck Driesell. He served as team captain his senior year and averaged six points, three rebounds, one assist and one block per game. “(Brendan is) a smart, heady player who will provide versatility for us at the power forward position.”

Julie Fults of Lincoln (Ill.) Community High School has committed to attend Millikin and play basketball.

Whitney Young (Chicago) HS team captain Rovina Broomfield is headed to Washington U. “We are delighted to have Rovina join our basketball family,” said coach Nancy Fahey. “Rovina brings an understanding of what it takes to win championships, coming from a winning tradition at Whitney Young. She has the athleticism and demeanor to be a terrific defender. Rovina will be fun to coach during her career at Washington University.”

Menchville (Va.) HS Lindsay Riesbeck is heading to Randolph-Macon.

They are the champions, my friends

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Salisbury lacrosse celebratesCongratulations to the Division III spring sports champions:

Baseball — UW-Whitewater
Men’s golf — Guilford
Women’s golf — Methodist
Men’s lacrosse — Salisbury (celebration shot from Salisbury athletics)
Women’s lacrosse — New Jersey
Women’s rowing — Ithaca
Softball — St. Thomas
Men’s tennis — UC Santa Cruz
Women’s tennis — Emory
Men’s track — Lincoln
Women’s track — Wartburg

Women’s water polo doesn’t have a Division III championship, but Redlands was selected for the NCAA all-divisions tournament and won one game in the three-game tournament to finish seventh.

And also, a special congratulations to Johns Hopkins, which won the Division I men’s lacrosse championship … even if those players are on scholarship!

D-III fans should thank Gary Bettman

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Even if you know who Gary Bettman is, you’re probably confused by the headline. But if you think about it, the NHL commissioner may very well have ensured more Division III basketball coverage on ESPN next season.

Blame the NHL players, blame the owners — it doesn’t matter. There was no hockey this past season and the lockout depressed the television contract’s value so much that ESPN not only didn’t pick up its $60 million broadcast contract option for 2005-06, it ended negotiations on a new contract altogether, according to Toronto’s The Globe and Mail newspaper.

“If the NHL decides it wants to come back with us, and propose a new offer, given our history, we’ll listen,” ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and production, Mark Shaprio, told the newspaper. “But anything in the neighborhood of $60 million is a conversation we’re not willing to have.”

Without hockey in the way, you can expect ESPN to add more college basketball, and the cable network should consider a WIAC game or a CCIW game for next year’s schedule.

If that happens, you know who to thank.